Risperdal, a drug used to treat schizophrenia, appears to be safe and effective for treating disruptive behavior in children with developmental disorders, Canadian researchers report.

These findings provide “additional evidence that this medication can be helpful in the management of challenging behaviors that some children with autism and other pervasive developmental disorders have,” Dr. Sarah Shea told AMN Health.

Shea, of the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and colleagues randomly assigned 79 children, age 5 to 12 years, with pervasive developmental disorders, to treatment with Risperdal or an inactive placebo over an 8-week period.

As reported in the medical journal Pediatrics, the group given Risperdal showed a significantly greater average decrease (64 percent) in irritability than did participants given placebo (31 percent). They also showed significantly greater decreases in measures of anxiety, hyperactivity and excessive sensitivity.

Overall, 87 percent of Risperdal patients showed an overall improvement in their condition versus 40 percent of the placebo group.

Sleepiness, which affected 73 percent of the children on Risperdal and 8 percent of placebo patients, was the most common side effect - but it was manageable by alteration of doses and scheduling.

Risperdal also resulted in significantly greater increases in weight, pulse rate and blood pressure than did placebo treatment.

“Improving…disruptive behaviors allows a child to have a better quality of life,” Shea said.

“It is critical that appropriately structured studies of medications be done with children so that we know what works and what is safe,” she added. “Too often physicians are left to use information obtained in adult studies.”

SOURCE: Pediatrics, November 2004.